Life's A Beach???

What a week for the Singapore Slingers organization! We were hit with every kind of distraction, as well as every thing possible that could go wrong leading into our biggest game of the season @ Manila vs. the Philippine Patriots. We have already discussed how hard life is on the road. Factor into the equation, we are playing one of the best teams in the league...I knew this would be a challenge. We are a team that relies on each person to do their individual jobs in order to have the most successful outcome. Our chance at a perfect season was first threatened last week during our blowout win vs. Satria Muda Britama from Indonesia. Al, our starting point guard, suffered a bruised knee and was questionable for this weekend's marquee match up. He didn't practice all week, but Al, being Filipino, I knew he would play somehow. To make matters worse, Tues. during practice, his backup came down with what we thought was a "heat rash". So now we were playing minus 3 players, (one of our big men had to stay home for military duty). As a result, we shifted our small forward to play the pg, in addition to our back up shooting guard taking on the duties as well. Along comes Friday, morning of the flight to Manila. Wow, not another distraction! I can't find my working visa, driver's license, or any ATM card. So my roommate and I are late for the plane causing everyone to worry even more. Too many distractions in one week already.....wait it gets better! We arrive to Manila late, go to shoot around, and discover that our back up point guard, who decided to travel despite " a heat rash", actually has chicken pox. Told you so, Wei Long!!! Can't tell the young guys anything! No problem you say...wrong....he gives it to another player! So now we only have 7 players to play on the road against a good team who presses full court the entire game! Setup for failure you say??? It gets even better! Call it coincidence but game day arrives and the other team decides not to send a bus for us like they were supposed to do, causing us to be late and have to ride in three separate taxis. Funny yet? Well, we arrive at the arena to find the locker room locked and no crew anywhere in sight. Finally, we get the locker room open 15 min. later and walk in to find the floor dripping wet and shinning with Mop and Glo all over it.....the b.s. never stops in the Philippines! So after our big man slips and nearly breaks both his wrists before the game, we go out and play like crap! I'm all about no excuses and playing through whatever, but how can I possibly expect my young teammates to magically be the same way. All credit to the Patriots, we got handed our first loss of the season and personally, I couldn't buy a shot from the outside. Did I mention that Filipinos have got the art of hacking perfected??? I got the cuts, scrapes, and bruises to prove it! I wonder if the refs enjoyed watching a good ole' fashion rugby match...because that stuff right there on Sat. was the kind of thing Dr. James Naismith (the inventor of Basketball) would have been embarrassed to admit was considered basketball. Next time, lets just leave the leather ball in the stands and bring Billie clubs, knives, bats, and sledge hammers on the court and beat each other up the right way....one hack after another hack. With all that said, we have to re-group and get ready to see Indonesia again. This time it will be on their home court and they will have some major revenge in mind after the spanking we put on them here in Singapore. Time to get re-focus and get prayed up...it doesn't get any easier from here on! Weight room, conditioning, extra shots, and film sessions....here I come. I'll get at you all next week with the results of another big game...God First....God Bless!